Monday, December 22, 2008

I really feel for your disappointment in the store opening delay - I know you've put your heart and soul into this... but by this time next year the delayed opening won't mean a thing! I plan to kick it up a notch sending cards and notes to my son who is leaving the friends and community of college life for a new job in a strange city. He'll know he's loved and ALWAYS will have a place to call home.

I need you to send me an email with your email and mailing address. If you have already done so, please do so again. Thank you.

The reason for the delay is because I had bought several fixtures and displays from Linens and Things that is going out of business. Anyway, they called and we needed to go get all our things out of the store this weekend. Here is a couple of photos of some of the stuff we purchased. We have been able to save a lot of money but catching liquidation sales like this.

I purchased 10 of these units along with the fixtures, pegs and shelves to allow for a lot of versatility. They are on rollers making them easy to move around. The maple finish matches the earlier slatwall fixtures I purchased from Goody's when they went out of business.Below is an sample of the some of the baskets and shelves that came with these.

I purchased 3 of these MASSIVE units. They are 5' x 5'. They take all the same fixture and shelves as the slatwall fixtures. I also purchased 9 sheets of 4'x8' slatwall.

We were taking slatwall of the wall at Linens and Things late last night and got home and unloaded at 2:30 am. I am exhausted but feel it is all worth it since I got such an awesome deal. There is no way I could have went out and purchased all of my displays brand new. I can't wait to get them in the store and get all my product on them.

Hope you all have a great day and a VERY Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

"ScrappingJulie" is the winner of the kit and memory box. Congrats Julie !! Since there were so few to leave comments, everyone is going to be a winner. Everyone else will receive a kit !! I am sorry but I don't have enough of the boxes to go around. Also, everyone will receive a complete kits but some may be ones I package since I only ordered 10 actual kits but have 25 sheets of each paper. I hope that that is okey. Yes, this includes you too Claire, since I already owe you a well over due package anyway. Everyone's comments were so nice and generous. Isn't this what Christmas is all about, giving unto others. Everyone who left a comment please send me your email address so that I can contact you to obtain mailing information. Please respond to preciousscraps@bellsouth.net. Be sure to put "blog candy winner" in the subject line so I will know who you are. And, thanks again for stopping by to share in my world.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Wow - I just noticed it has been over a month since I posted. I am sorry for being so absent lately. We hit a snag with the store and things got very stressful for the past month but everything is now back on track. The bad news is I won't be open by Christmas, the good news is we hired (ANOTHER) electrician and he started Monday so things are moving again. To make a long story short the original electrician we hired was given a start date, on that date he told us it would be a couple of weeks before he could start, while this did not make me happy due to my tight schedule I figure I had no choice so I patiently waited. A week in a half later when I called to confirm that he would start on Monday, he told me "well, I looks light now it may be a month or two". WHAT !!! I was not a happy camper. Again, to shorten this very long story, we solicited bids from more electricians, which here at the holiday was difficult, and finally hired a very nice man who started right away. He should have the electric roughed in by the the end of the day today; Heat and Air guys coming on Monday, Electrician finishes us after inspection on Tuesday (say a little prayer all goes well and everything passes); then drywall, drop ceiling and paint. Then.......move in!! I am hoping to accomplish moving in over the holidays.

My house "overfloweth" with merchandise for the store. I had order so much Christmas expecting to be open and now all of my pre-ordered Valentine is starting to come in. I can't wait to share this with you along with some other non-holiday inventory. I will be posting photos before the new year but to give you a little tease, I have new Cosmo Cricket, My Mind's Eye, Crate Paper, Memory Box, Theresa Collins, Basic Grey, and much more. I have a huge box of acrylic scrapbooks in all shapes and sizes as well as some new embellishments.

I have been trying to keep myself busy so that I will stop stressing over missing my deadline of December 6th to have the store open. Every year I make cards, ornaments, gifts and such to sell with part of the proceeds going to the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. This is has been no exception. With everything going on I am staying up until 3 am to complete orders but loving every minute of it. To date I, with the help of a couple of friends (thanks Monica and Wanda), have made 354 Christmas Cards, 16 Recipe Card Holders, 108 Ornaments, 21 Kids Card Packs (I stamp a Charlie Brown Christmas stamp in black on a white card, 5 cards and a pack of crayons ber set for the kids to color their own cards for parents, grandparents, etc), 42 Snowman Soup Tins, 14 Hershey Nugget Tins, 16 Teacher Sets, 7 Altered 5x7 frames, 7 Theresa Collins Scrapbooks, 9 Checkbook Covers, 14 "2009" Calendars, 64 Candy Bar Wrappers, and 1 12x12 Photo Collage. Wow, I am wore out just typing that and I am still receiving order. I am very excited about receiving these orders and want to thank everyone for their support and the help in supporting the Relay for Life.

It's been a while since I have offered blog candy and think this may be a good time to do so with the Holidays approaching. Let's see what I have.........How about one of the new Cosmo Cricket Chemistry Sets and one of their Memory Boxes.

Leave a comment telling me 1 special thing you plan to do for someone else for the holiday or in the coming new year. For instance, I plan to make some craft kits to send to the Ronald McDonald House in Nashville. I have wanted to do this for a long time and while packing everything to move I will have to opportunity to purge some items and do something for someone else at the same time. I look forward to reading your comments. I will post a winner selected by random generator on Monday the 15th.

Thanks again for being so patient with me and supporting me as I still struggle to complete the store and achieve my dream. If you have any specific questions or comments about the store or any special items you hope that I carry or wish me to order for you, you email me at preciousscraps@bellsouth.net. Be sure to put "Comment on store, or Order request" in the subject line so I will know it is not spam or junk mail. Don't forget to leave a comment. And now just a couple of photos to update you on the store.....

This is the front of the building. The Precious Scraps letters are NOT actually there, I did that with my photo software so I could see what it will look like when I do put them up. (I forgot to save the original photo, that's why you are looking at this one). I now have my "real" windows and door and the front patio done. We still have lights and signage to add.

This is my front patio. We still have to seal it but I really like the detail of the edge of it. I have an antique church pew with decorative iron legs that will sit in the center. Above the bench will be a sign stating "Memories........One Page at a Time". What do you think??

This is my floor. As I mentioned in a previous post, it is stained concrete. This is after we put one coat of sealer on it. The colors really seemed to "pop" after that. We still have one more coat to do after everyone gets finished and before we move in. My fixtures are Maple and Red, thus the colors chosen for the stain.